Kingmaker
by StipulatePrism
Summary: Three prospective graduates of a prestigious mercenary academy are sent out on a mission that will quickly leave them in over their heads. An AU telling of the official 'Kingmaker' campaign of the Pathfinder RPG setting.


**Kingmaker: Teaser**

 **Naruto and the Pathfinder RPG are property of their respective owners.**

* * *

The road was a long, winding thing running parallel to a lazy river. The cool breeze blowing across its surface cut the last remnants of heat from the sweltering summer, promising a cool autumn season right around the corner. Dragonflies buzzed and darted, briefly examining the small party of intruders to their domain before zipping off again to catch one last meal before the sun set.

"Hey old man, are we almost there?" The young man adjusted the bulging rucksack higher on his shoulders. It had obviously been weighing him down. His feet dragged in the dirt, kicking up small plumes of dust that swept along behind him like a trail. "You said we would make it by nightfall and it is already getting dark. Where is this place?"

A pink-haired human woman the boy's age took a playful swipe at him, but her own fatigue slowed her down and allowed her target time to dart away.

"Naruto, you shouldn't talk to Master Asuma like that. He's a full-ranking member of Konoha and deserves our respect. Or have you forgotten that he is the one grading our final exam?" Naruto had the decency to look at least partly abashed at that, but immediately doubled down.

"I haven't forgotten Sakura, but come on! Look at the guy. You know he has to be somebody's grandfather by now. And we've been walking so slow I'm starting to think gramps left his cane back at the Academy."

The gleam in his shining blue eyes filled with mischief took any bite out of his words and left them filled with the simple joy of being alive and on the road. Asuma, a brawny man with dark-tanned skin and a trimmed beard, could hardly fault the young man for that. He had been much the same way when he had been eighteen after all, ten long years ago. He simply smiled his serene smile and lit a cigarette, inhaling the earthy flavor of his hometown.

"See? He even smokes like an old man. No wonder we go so slow."

Asuma's eye twitched. He had been on the road with the newly graduated mercenaries for a few days now and while the journey, and even company, had been pleasant the jokes had been non-stop from Naruto about his age and smoking. Sakura, while too polite and proper to say anything against a superior, had been noticeably silent in scolding Naruto for making fun of that last part. Hell, even Ino, their third member, had spent the entire journey standing upwind. Her movements had made him suspicious at first, but he caught on quickly enough. She had been avoiding his smell of smoke. Though considering her sensitive half-elven senses, he had tried to be accommodating out of courtesy.

"Naruto," Asuma drawled slowly around his cigarette, walking with the ease of a man with all the time in the world. 'Were you planning on going swimming today?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the older man, suspecting a trap despite not knowing the exact details. Asuma saw his muscles tighten in anticipation before he nodded. Good. A little respectful fear could go a long way. He hummed loudly to himself as though in mild surprise, and kept on walking. It was quiet after that for a few minutes, temporarily cowed as Naruto was, and Asuma took advantage of it.

"I'm assuming the three of you remember the details of your final exam?"

Ino, a tall but slender young woman of an age with Naruto and Sakura, and Sakura nodded together, their demeanor switching to professional instantly. They had obviously memorized the details of their missions as was expected. Naruto, meanwhile, smiled sheepishly and rubbed his neck.

"I've got the letter in here somewhere," He said, thumbing over his shoulder at his rucksack. Asuma sighed and some irritation leaked out. Jokes among comrades while on the road was all well and good, but as prospective graduates from the Konoha Mercenary Academy, they had a reputation to uphold. That careless absent-mindedness was simply unacceptable.

"We are almost at the trading post, so we'll take a few minutes to rest here to catch our breath before we arrive. First impressions are almost as important as final results in our line of work. Sakura, Ino, take a load off and rest. You've earned it. Naruto, dig around in that cart you call a bag until you find the mission charter."

He finished off his cigarette patiently while the three got to it. Ino sat down abruptly and unlaced her calf-high leather boots, rubbing her sore feet. Sakura propped her bag against a tree and started stretching her hamstrings, grunting first in exertion, then in relief. Naruto... dumped the contents of his sack onto the ground and started rummaging through them. The leader of the expedition crushed his cigarette butt under his heel and rubbed his face. If he hadn't been a part of the kid's formal education for the last few years, he would have thought the kid was a moron.

"Found it!"

A disgusted scoff and trilling laugh brought his head up to see Naruto holding a wooden message tube with a pair of boxers hanging from the end. Naruto grinned sheepishly and tossed them back onto the pile of assorted detritus.

"So you do have it? Good. Read it for us, then repack your bag quickly. And leave that letter out. You'll need it." Naruto had to squint in the fading light to make out the message, and Asuma could make out the girls mouthing along. So they had memorized it? Excellent.

"Be it so known that the bearer of this charter has been charged by the Swordlords of Restov, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Reagent of the Dragonscale Throne, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Greenbelt. Exploration should be limited to an area no further than thirty-six miles east and west and sixty miles south of Oleg's Trading Post. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior to be encountered. The punishment for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope. So witnessed on this twenty-fourth day of Erastus under the watchful eye of the Lordship of Rostov and authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Reagent of the Dragonscale Throne."

Asuma nodded, and Naruto started shoving handfuls of his belongings back into the thick bag with neither rhyme nor reason.

"The mission you were assigned is to scout out the terrain and landmarks to the south of our final stop for the day. Your current employers have expressed their interest in reclaiming and settling these lands, but first they have to know what is in them." Sakura and Ino were both listening, transfixed, and even Naruto was paying more attention to him than to his things. "As you can guess, this isn't a particularly hard job or one that you can really fail at. This makes it the perfect opportunity to your skills in the field. Your masters have decided that each of you are ready to test for graduation and the official end of your training, and the beginning of your careers as independent mercenaries."

Naruto let out a whoop of joy and thrust a fist in the air in celebration. Ino looked almost ready to join him, in fact. Only Sakura seemed nervous as she chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"From this point on this is your mission. I am neither your master, nor am I your friend. I'm not here to help you complete this mission or save you if you get in over your head. I am here only to observe your progress and decide whether you have what it takes for the Academy to stake its reputation on you. " His eyes hardened and the three graduates subconsciously leaned closer. "Let me be clear. If you die out here, I will not save you. It is up to you and your team to make sure all three of you get home safely. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir." Naruto said, his face pale and voice weak. The girls simply nodded silently, looking sick.

"Excellent!" Asuma cried, clapping. All seriousness was gone from his voice and it regained the casual joviality the young adults had become accustomed to on their journey. "Then let's get going! I'm beat and could use a drink."

Naruto, Sakura, and Ino simply sat cross-legged in the grass for a moment in scared silence. They met one anothers eyes and Naruto swallowed upon seeing his own doubts and fears reflected in their eyes. Were they really ready for this?

* * *

To be continued.


End file.
